rumor has it that in the 14th century, the former king was presented with a mystical bone relic of buddha. unsure of a suitable spot on where to build a temple to house this relic, he tied it to the back of an elephant, who stomped thru the jungle and arrived at doi suthep.
at 1056m above the city, the temple is accessible by a 309-step staircase protected by a naga, or 7-headed dragon serpent. and all the people who contributed funds for the dragon hand rails get a neat plaque up and down the staircase. not everybody could make it up in one shot, so there were many that took breaks along the way...
and because it's a temple, one must observe proper rules of attire (no shorts, skin-baring tops, etc.), so pam had to put on some rental gear to cover up. once inside, i had the opportunity to be blessed by a revered monk, who asked me to kneel in front of him as he tied a white string around my wrist while chanting a blessing. he then dipped a stick in holy water and sprayed my face a few times to complete the ritual...
it is said that you haven't been to chiang mai if you haven't been to doi suthep, so i'm glad we got a chance to visit. at the base of the staircase, there are a few street vendors ready to make a deal, so i picked up a cool woven leather bracelet for 15 THB (50 cents).
we hopped back in our ride and drove further up the mountain, where our driver dropped us off at approximately 1500m. here's a look at our starting point, where we tested out our bikes, strapped on our helmets and began our descent...
because i've never been before, i didn't quite know what to expect. our ride was 90% downhill, so i thought we'd be cruising down dirt trails enjoying the sights. i was wrong, haha. it was pretty friggin challenging, as you're flying down these narrow tracks (literally 3 inches wide) with all kinds of perilous potholes and gorges waiting to upend your tires and send you flying. i literally was forced off my bike on 4 occasions, but luckily averted any head-first aerials.
that being said, we weaved our way down a variety of trails, passing a few hill tribes, a coffee plantation, lychee orchards and even an elementary school, where the kids were on lunch break and playing a furious game of tag. it's refreshing to know that in northern thailand, they play the same kind of games we played as tykes...
our thrilling descent ended in the lake called huay tung tao, which is a quiet man-made reservoir interspersed with restaurants, fishing, paddle boats and picnic areas. it's a beautiful place to relax and put your feet up, and according to our guide win, it also doubles for a locale where many thais carry on secret trysts. the three of us dined in one of the little huts along the water, and i seriously could have slept here all day. lunch consisted of spicy papaya salad, peanut salad, grilled chicken, ruby fish (local to chiang mai) and sticky rice.
after a quick early evening nap, i stopped by julie's guest house to meet up w/maria (from our trek) and present to her a slice of m&m cheesecake in honor of her birthday. after all, since she was on the road for a whopping 6 months by her lonesome, i thought it'd be nice for somebody to acknowledge the day. she was heading to laos in a few minutes, so she happily gave me her SIM card from her bangkok cell.
i then headed off to the night bazaar, which is a motley collection of outdoor markets and stands hocking all kinds of gifts, clothes, souvenirs, etc. here's where you can bargain with the best of them, as they propose prices by typing in an amount on their calculator. since i had such fond memories of drinking chang beer, my mission was to find a proper t-shirt and at the right price. from a high of 280 THB, i was able to bring it down to 130 THB, so i pulled the trigger and got one.
as a brief respite, i struck gold at a beer terrace on the corner of the main two streets and pulled up a chair to observe the dizzying sights and sounds. and yes, this tasted as good as it looks...
it is said that you haven't been to chiang mai if you haven't been to doi suthep, so i'm glad we got a chance to visit. at the base of the staircase, there are a few street vendors ready to make a deal, so i picked up a cool woven leather bracelet for 15 THB (50 cents).
we hopped back in our ride and drove further up the mountain, where our driver dropped us off at approximately 1500m. here's a look at our starting point, where we tested out our bikes, strapped on our helmets and began our descent...
because i've never been before, i didn't quite know what to expect. our ride was 90% downhill, so i thought we'd be cruising down dirt trails enjoying the sights. i was wrong, haha. it was pretty friggin challenging, as you're flying down these narrow tracks (literally 3 inches wide) with all kinds of perilous potholes and gorges waiting to upend your tires and send you flying. i literally was forced off my bike on 4 occasions, but luckily averted any head-first aerials.
that being said, we weaved our way down a variety of trails, passing a few hill tribes, a coffee plantation, lychee orchards and even an elementary school, where the kids were on lunch break and playing a furious game of tag. it's refreshing to know that in northern thailand, they play the same kind of games we played as tykes...
our thrilling descent ended in the lake called huay tung tao, which is a quiet man-made reservoir interspersed with restaurants, fishing, paddle boats and picnic areas. it's a beautiful place to relax and put your feet up, and according to our guide win, it also doubles for a locale where many thais carry on secret trysts. the three of us dined in one of the little huts along the water, and i seriously could have slept here all day. lunch consisted of spicy papaya salad, peanut salad, grilled chicken, ruby fish (local to chiang mai) and sticky rice.
after a quick early evening nap, i stopped by julie's guest house to meet up w/maria (from our trek) and present to her a slice of m&m cheesecake in honor of her birthday. after all, since she was on the road for a whopping 6 months by her lonesome, i thought it'd be nice for somebody to acknowledge the day. she was heading to laos in a few minutes, so she happily gave me her SIM card from her bangkok cell.
i then headed off to the night bazaar, which is a motley collection of outdoor markets and stands hocking all kinds of gifts, clothes, souvenirs, etc. here's where you can bargain with the best of them, as they propose prices by typing in an amount on their calculator. since i had such fond memories of drinking chang beer, my mission was to find a proper t-shirt and at the right price. from a high of 280 THB, i was able to bring it down to 130 THB, so i pulled the trigger and got one.
as a brief respite, i struck gold at a beer terrace on the corner of the main two streets and pulled up a chair to observe the dizzying sights and sounds. and yes, this tasted as good as it looks...
lastly, i encountered this on my walk home back to the hotel. apparently there's no need for subtlety in chiang mai...
1 comment:
I'm exhausted Brian. I think you deserve some beach time!
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